Ann Wyley (or Wiley; died March 26, 1777) was an enslaved woman hanged for burglary in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, at the time part of the British

Province of Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...

. She is the only black person and one of the only two women known to have been legally executed in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, and the only woman whose identity is known. Wyley was co-owned by James Abbott and Thomas Finchley, two businessmen in the fur trade who operated a store near

Fort Detroit Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit (1701–1796) was a fort established on the north bank of the Detroit River by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and the Italian Alphonse de Tonty in 1701. In the 18th century, Fre ...

. It is unknown when or how she came to be in their possession. In mid-1774, Wyley was charged with stealing a collection of items from her enslavers, including a purse containing six

guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

s (), a handkerchief, two pairs of women's shoes, and a piece of flannel. Another of the firm's laborers, Jean Contencineau (probably an

indentured servant Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an " indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment ...

), was also charged as an accomplice, while a third worker, Charles Landry, confessed to involvement but was let free; the two men had both stolen beaver, otter, and raccoon skins. Wyley and Contencineau were additionally charged with

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

, as they were alleged to have lit a fire to cover their traces. After their arrest, Wyley and Contencineau did not face trial until mid-1776, imprisoned in Fort Detroit. The town notary and justice of the peace,

Philippe DeJean Philippe DeJean (1736 – c.1809) was a judge in Fort Detroit until he was captured during the American Revolution. He was born 5 April 1736 in Toulouse, France, the son of Philippe Dejean and Jeanne de Rocques de Carbouere. His father was a legal ...

, granted the pair a jury trial. They were acquitted of arson, as there was only circumstantial evidence, but found guilty of the burglary; Contencineau had testified that Wyley was the "mastermind" of their scheme. As the fort had suffered a recent spate of petty thefts, DeJean wished to make an example of them. He sentenced them to death, a decision ratified by Lieutenant-Governor Henry Hamilton. Wyley and Contencineau were publicly hanged on March 27, 1777. According to some sources, DeJean offered to pardon Wyley if she performed Contencineau's execution herself, as no one else was willing to serve as executioner. She did so "in such a clumsy fashion that the spectators were horrified at the struggles of the victim" but was then hanged anyway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyley, Ann 1777 deaths 18th-century executions of American people American executioners People executed by British North America by hanging People executed by the Province of Quebec (1763–1791) Capital punishment in Michigan 18th-century American slaves People from Detroit American people convicted of burglary Executed American women Executed African-American people People executed for theft 18th-century African-American women 18th-century African-American people African-American history of Michigan Publicly executed people

See also

References